Johannesburg - The future of nuclear power in South Africa was vague and uncertain, and should be cleared up as soon as possible, said Andrew Kenny, an independent energy consultant.

Kenny's comments follow the resignation on Monday of Johan Kriek, CEO of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), a government-backed research initiative deemed by some to be part of the answer to South Africa's energy deficit.

Kenny said it's not negotiable that South Africa must expand its nuclear power capacity, and the sooner the better. "The rumours going around are that Nuclear 1 will be resumed later this year, and I very much hope that's the case," he said in an interview.

Nuclear 1, a project government cancelled at the end of 2008, aimed at building a second nuclear power station in South Africa. The country at present only has Koeberg in the Western Cape generating nuclear power.

Department of Energy director-general Nelisiwe Magubane said government remained committed to nuclear power. "The future of South Africa's nuclear power plan will be laid out in the revised integrated resources plan, the IRP2."

The IRP2, a strategic roadmap setting out the future of South Africa's power resources, was being developed by the department of energy. The IRP2 was expected to be announced by the middle of the year.

The fact that government had provisionally postponed the PBMR project was not necessarily the death knell for nuclear power, especially following the resignation of Kriek, said Magubane.

"The two issues are entirely separate. PBMR is a new technology being developed. Nuclear power exists. The question is merely when we are going to expand it," she said.

- Fin24.com